


A Very Good Thing

by JoMouse



Series: Sterek Valentine Week 2021 [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Don't copy to another site, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Memories, New Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:54:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29299992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoMouse/pseuds/JoMouse
Summary: Stiles is helping Derek move from the loft to the rebuilt Hale House. He comes across a box full of seemingly random items.Written forSterek Valentine Week. Day 1 Theme: Hopeless Romantic
Relationships: Derek Hale & Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Series: Sterek Valentine Week 2021 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2151975
Comments: 27
Kudos: 220
Collections: Sterek Valentine Week





	A Very Good Thing

**Author's Note:**

> Greetings and Salutations!
> 
> Welcome to [Sterek Valentine Week 2021](http://sterekvalentineweek.tumblr.com). Thus far, this is the only story I've completed, so fingers crossed I can pull off a feat as I did for A Very Sterek Winter. 
> 
> Big thanks to [Marie](HTTP://quietzap.tumblr.com) and Jenn for betaing so quickly and being so supportive as I lose my mind again.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this little piece of mostly fluff!
> 
> xx-Joey
> 
> Don't know 'em. Don't own 'em. Don't show 'em.

Packing up Derek’s loft wasn’t the way Stiles had planned on spending the weekend, but when he’d gotten the call that the packhouse was completed, he hopped into his jeep and headed over. There was very little Stiles wouldn’t do if Derek asked. Derek opened the door for him with an apologetic smile. “You’re the only one that answered the phone.”

“Typical,” Stiles said, laughing. “As long as you feed me, I’ll do what I can.” 

“Thank you,” Derek said, leading him upstairs into the area of the loft Stiles didn’t see very often, or when he did, he wasn’t paying attention to the decor. “I’ve gotten most things boxed up and marked. They just need to go down to the car.” 

Stiles looked at the boxes scattered around the room, and the mattress that looked like Derek hadn’t slept there in weeks. “You’ve already been staying at the house?” 

“I wanted to get it done,” Derek said, grabbing four of the boxes and heading down the stairs without future explanation. 

Shaking his head, Stiles stood in the middle of the room, trying to figure out where to get started. The lack of organization was unsurprising, but he knew it wouldn’t take him long to get everything under control and figured out. Someone had marked most of the boxes with their contents, so he gathered them together in groupings. He laughed at the sheer number of those that held books and knew that pile would be for Derek to transport.

There was a smaller stack full of clothing and another full of linens. Working quickly, Stiles stripped the mattress and shoved the bedding into an empty box. Using the marker he found on the crate next to the bed, he wrote “Laundry” on top of the box and folded the flaps down, locking them together.

Derek came into the room and took a few of the boxes that Stiles pointed to before heading downstairs again, saying he’d take the carload out to the house and bring back pizza. Stiles nodded and waved him off, figuring he’d be back in about an hour, plenty of time for him to finish up with the boxes in the room. A few more boxes shoved into the corner, and Stiles crossed to them, frowning when he saw that one of the boxes had nothing written on it. Shrugging, he knelt and pulled it open to check the contents. 

Reaching into the box, he pulled out a small wooden box. Flipping back the lid, he found ticket stubs. Picking them up, he smiled as he recognized them as movies he and Derek had gone to together over the years. There was even a stub for the musical Stiles had won tickets to, and Derek had offered to go with him when his dad got called into work. It had been a fun night when things between them had begun changing from friendship to something more. Derek had held his hand during an incredibly emotional moment in the second act.

Moving the box aside, he picked up a brochure from the bed and breakfast the Pack had spent the night at after a particularly harrowing run-in with witches in another county. Although the Pack they’d gone to help out had offered them places within their own homes, Derek hadn’t wanted to split the Pack up. A supernatural couple owned the B&B, and they were more than happy to let them all pile up in the finished game room in the basement and recover. Stiles had shyly mentioned wanting to return one day with just Derek, but he hadn’t thought that the ‘wolf had been paying attention. 

Opening the brochure, he saw a sticky note with dates written on it; some were crossed out, and others had question marks next to them. Something about the dates was familiar, but they weren’t sticking out in Stiles’ brain except for one of the ones that were crossed out; it was the weekend, including his birthday. 

Frowning in thought, he moved the brochure to the side and reached inside again. He pulled out random slips of paper covered in his own handwriting. Glancing them over, he discovered they weren’t anything special. There was even a grocery list he thought he’d lost a few weeks earlier. He remembered calling Derek and asking if he had any idea what had been on the list and being impressed by the other man’s memory; now he wondered if he’d just been reading from the list.

Moving the papers aside, Stiles tilted his head and pulled out a pair of jeans. Holding them up by the waist and letting them unfold, he studied them. There were five small tears in the right thigh, each one surrounded by a dark spot. He pulled the jeans closer, ran his fingers over the areas, and wrinkled his nose, identifying the darkness as dried blood. Holding the jeans up again, Stiles gaped. They were Derek’s jeans from the night in the Sheriff’s station when they’d been lying on the floor paralyzed by Kanima venom. Derek had dug his claws into his thigh to kickstart the healing process.

Confused, Stiles set the jeans aside as he dug into the box again. He pulled out a flattened basketball along with a small glass vial. Holding it up to the light, he squinted at the contents, but it was just a clear liquid. He carefully unscrewed the top and wrinkled his nose at the faint scent of chlorine that wafted out. Closing it back up, he looked between the vial and the basketball, his mind going back to the night he’d held Derek’s paralyzed body up in the pool for hours while Jackson had stalked around it.

Setting the items aside, his curiosity was even more piqued as he reached into the box and pulled out a long piece of blue elastic. It was cracking from age, but as Stiles held it between his hands, he raced through his memories, trying to identify it. There was definitely something familiar about it, but he was struggling with the memory. He started to wrap it around his hands to set it aside when the memory came flooding back, and his stomach churned.

The wolfsbane bullet and Derek’s black-veined arm filled his mind. He tried to close his eyes against the image of the bone saw against his too-pale skin just below the blue tourniquet he now held in his hands. He flung the elastic away and rubbed his palms against his eyes, blinking back tears. He knew that everything had turned out alright in the end, but the memory was still traumatic for Stiles, and he couldn’t believe that Derek had kept something that would remind him of that night. As he looked into the box, he spotted a small baggie that held the remains of the bullet as well. 

The only other thing left in the box was a small glass display box. Pulling it out, Stiles stared at the leaf preserved inside, confused as he turned the case around, trying to find more information. Carved crudely into the lower corner of the case was a date. Closing his eyes, he thought back to the date. It would have been September of his junior year of high school, early in the school year, that had changed everything in his life. He glanced over at the framed photo of Laura that hadn’t been put away yet and then back down at the date. It was the day after Scott had gotten bitten, the day that he had gone with his friend to look for his inhaler.

“Holy shit, it’s the day I met Derek,” he breathed out.

“What are you doing?” Derek’s voice startled him, and he nearly dropped the case but caught it at the last second, clutching it to his chest.

Derek stood frozen at the head of the stairs, his eyes flicking over the scattered contents of the box. Glancing up at Stiles for just a second, he ducked his head and started to back out of the room slowly. “Oh, no, you don’t,” Stiles said, jumping to his feet just as Derek turned to race down the stairs.

Stiles knew he’d never be able to catch Derek, but he just needed to get close enough to send a bolt of magic to the plants that hadn’t been packed up yet. The one closest to the bottom of the stairs reached out and wrapped around Derek’s ankles, sending him to the ground. Only his werewolf reflexes saved him from smashing his face into the concrete floor. He growled at the ground and then tried to reach back with claws extended to cut the plant, but another one caught him around the wrist and held it in place.

By the time Stiles reached the first floor, the plants had Derek hogtied, his face pressed into the ground, growling and cursing as he struggled against his bindings. Smirking, Stiles stepped one leg over Derek and lowered himself to sit on his butt just behind where his hands were tied.

As soon as Stiles ran a finger over Derek’s hand, the claws retracted, and the growling stopped so abruptly it was like he’d been frozen in time. Tangling his fingers with Derek’s, he sent out the warmth that loosened the bonds but didn’t release him completely. “Let me go,” Derek said. “Please.”

Stiles was going to say ‘no’ until the last word. Standing up immediately, he snapped his fingers, and the vines fell away. Derek rose to his feet slowly, watching the plants with suspicion. Stiles wiggled his fingers and bit back a laugh when one of the vines twisted, and Derek jumped, his eyes flashing at the offending foliage. Stiles snickered, holding his hands up when Derek turned his glare on him before dropping his eyes and trying to move away again.

Stiles sighed. “Do you want me to sick the plants on you again? I really didn’t think you were into bondage.”

“Ha ha ha,” Derek deadpanned.

They stared at each other for a moment before they broke into laughter. Stiles moved closer and laid a hand on Derek’s shoulder, leaning into him until the laughter stopped. “Seriously, dude, what’s with the box?”

“Can we pretend you never saw it?” Derek asked, dragging a hand down over his face.

Stiles studied his face, hating the way he avoided looking him in the eye. Ever since the day they’d met, Derek had never hesitated to make eye contact, so this was disconcerting for Stiles. “I’d rather you tell me why you have an unlabeled box full of random objects.”

“The items aren’t random,” Derek said after a few minutes. “They all have one thing in common.” He rocked his head from side to side, looking thoughtful. “Maybe two.”

“What two things?” Stiles asked, crossing to the kitchen area and picking up one of the pizza boxes. He set it on the coffee table that hadn’t been moved yet and settled onto the couch. He leaned back and started eating the pizza. After swallowing, he raised his eyebrows at Derek.

Sighing, Derek crossed the room and got the other pizza box, and settled next to Stiles. Surprisingly, they ate everything in silence, and when they were done, Stiles closed his box to take home the leftovers. Derek’s pizza was gone, and Stiles reached for the box, taking it from him. Turning the box over to start crushing it, he froze when he noticed a perfect square cut out of the box’s edge. Comparing it to the other one, he saw it was the logo for the pizzeria that was missing.

Turning around, he noticed Derek was gone. Hurrying up the stairs, he found Derek placing everything back into the box. Stiles stood watching him. When everything that Stiles had pulled out was put away, Derek pulled out a pen and scribbled something on an item in his hand before putting it into the box. Moving closer, Stiles caught sight of the missing piece of the box. In Derek’s handwriting was that day’s date.

Before he could say anything, Derek started speaking. “When I was ten, I was hiding in the attic from Laura during a game of hide and seek. It was raining outside, so we weren’t allowed out. I found an old trunk and opened it, thinking it was the perfect hiding spot.” The soft smile on Derek’s face drew Stiles in, and he sat next to him on the floor, placing a hand on his arm, surprised when Derek laid his other hand over it.

“The trunk was full of the weirdest things. Receipts and ticket stubs. Pieces of fabric and bubble gum wrappers. Small bottles of dirt and shells.” He chuckled. “Laura found me while I was still digging through the box. Together, we emptied the entire thing, the items spread out around us on the floor of the attic. By the time we were done, the only thing we could identify for sure was a dried bouquet of flowers from mom and dad’s wedding.”

Stiles’ mind was racing, trying to figure out where all of this was going, but instead of questioning, he let Derek continue talking. Recently, he’d been getting better about talking about his family to Stiles, but it was still something Stiles savored when it happened. He squeezed Derek’s arm in silent encouragement.

“Our mother found us a couple of hours later. We were reorganizing the items, trying to make heads or tails of them. We made a chronological timeline with items that had dates. The rest of the items we organized by type. We were proud of our organization. Our mother started laughing when she found everything but had tears in her eyes as she started gathering them back together.” He shook his head and lifted his hand from Stiles’ to run it through his hair. “As she worked, she told us about the items.”

Derek reached into the box and pulled out the piece of cardboard. “Werewolves have mates. It’s not like the stories. We aren’t locked into a relationship with some unknown person. Mates are found, and the bonds developed naturally, like those of humans. One of the clues to having found your mate is the desire to collect. Mom said she thought it was an instinct like a pregnant woman nesting.” 

Derek didn’t continue; he just started pulling everything back out, laying them down around them. Stiles’ eyes traced them, beginning with the leaf and ending with the cardboard. He touched each item, looking up at Stiles when he reached the end. “Every moment with a mate creates an urge in the ‘wolf to save something to remember it. I didn’t even notice when I picked up this leaf or pocketed the tourniquet.” He picked up the vial of pool water. “It wasn’t until I went back to collect this that I remembered the trunk. I tried to fight it, not wanting to have to explain to you what I was doing.”

“Why?”

Derek shrugged. “Fear of rejection was a big reason. Fear of your father’s gun was another.”

“My dad loves you,” Stiles said. “Sometimes I think he likes you more than me.”

“Now, he loves me. Back then, he was arresting me for murder and watching me like I was going to steal everything he loved.” Derek chuckled darkly.

“Point.” Stiles reached out and touched the leaf. He nodded to himself before digging into his pocket and pulling out his wallet. Opening it up, he went into the part that had held bills. He pulled out a strip of fabric, holding it out to Derek, who took it carefully. “The shirt ended up in shreds. Not sure how that happened.” 

Derek ducked his head, the tips of his ears turning red as he held the piece of blue and orange fabric in his hands. “It was a hideous shirt.”

“Whatever you say, Miguel,” Stiles teased as he watched Derek lay the fabric down between the tourniquet and the bottle of pool water. “Never would’ve pegged you for a hopeless romantic.”

Derek looked up at Stiles through his lashes. “Is that a bad thing?”

Stiles shook his head, leaning in to press a light kiss to Derek’s lips, grinning against his mouth when he deepened the kiss. Panting for breath when they broke apart, he giggled. “I’d say it’s a very good thing.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come say 'hi' on tumblr. I'm 'josjournal' over there!


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